Archive for the ‘Industry Headlines’ Category
Industry Headlines: January 5
- Same-store sales seen up 4.3 percent in December: Looks like last-second shoppers saved Christmas for many US retailers. (Reuters)
- Strip malls to be stripped down in international touring design contest: The strip mall is a retail segment that’s been badly neglected in recent years. Can it rise again? (Winnipeg Free Press)
- Gift cards will extend retailers’ holiday cheer: Another year, another big uptick in gift card sales. It means a hit for the holidays, but more shoppers in the always tough January. (LA Times)
- Sears to close 100+ stores: Another blow the department store anchors. (Desert Sun)
- Drake Rumor Caused Mall of America Fight: We all know celebrity appearances can cause chaos, but simple unfounded rumors can too? Ouch. (ShalomLife)
- Why Best Buy is Going out of Business…Gradually: Batten down the hatches, apparently we’re losing another one. (Forbes)
- Dollar General to add 6,000 jobs in 2012: Dollar General may save the day with 625 new stores this year alone. (Knox News)
- U.S. is top 2012 property investment pick: Brazil is catching up, however. (CNBC)
- Top 10 luxury marketing ideas in 2011: The luxury world was abuzz with new ideas, mostly on the web. (Luxury Daily)
- Man vs. Machine: A look at the future of the self-checkout. (Stores)
- A shopping season full of surprises: 5 ways the holiday season turned away from expectations. (Star Tribune)
Written by Nissa on January 4, 2012 – 1:16 pm -
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Industry Headlines: December 22
- Holiday shoppers feeling jolly, sales increasing: There was a brief lull, but shoppers are primed and ready to go for their last-minute Christmas shopping. (Detroit Free Press)
- Toys R Us to stay open round the clock till Christmas Eve: Here’s one retailer ready to facilitate that. (CNNMoney)
- Watch the Season’s Best Holiday Ads: We can’t fit them all in here, so here are the most popular ads of the season. (Advertising Age)
- Looking for every sale, retailers inject testosterone into holiday shopping: An interesting team up between retailers and alternate venues to lure male shoppers. (Baltimore Sun)
- Simon says add fine dining at malls: Fine dining in the mall is a growing trend. (Philadelphia Business Journal)
- As Sales Lag, Stores Shuffle the Calendar: Retailers are split on whether to focus their Super Saturday efforts on Christmas Eve or not. (New York Times)
- At malls and Christmas gatherings, sensitive Santas catering to needs of children with autism: We’ve covered these programs before, but it’s something worth looking into if you haven’t already. (The Washington Post)
- Anonymous donors pay off Kmart layaway accounts: We’re hearing reports worldwide of this sort of thing, and for some families it’s a true Christmas miracle. (Yahoo)
Written by Nissa on December 21, 2011 – 12:45 pm -
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Industry Headlines: December 14
- Retailers Re-Embrace Christmas: Should we say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays?” The debate is heated, and this year the trend is changing. (Forbes)
- Stores more aggressive with marketing this season: It looks as though predictions of a season of deep discounts are coming true. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Mary Portas: shopping is gone, bring back the car boot sale: It doesn’t seem as though more car boot sales will save the high street, but Portas knows best. (Telegraph)
- The Future of Retail? Look To Its Past: Technology may change retail, but it doesn’t change people. (Harvard Business Review)
- No Hit Toy to Brighten Retailers’ Christmas: It’s not as bleak as it sounds, but toy retailers do need to be cautious in the face of a season without a must-have. (New York Times – registration required)
- Retailers move with lightning speed to create mobile apps: A look at the way real people are using mobile to enhance their shopping experiences. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
- Mall powers its Christmas tree lights with energy from shoppers’ footsteps: Midsummer Place has implemented this tech on the small scale, but every little bit helps. (Click Green)
- Cleaners’ strike to hit Christmas shoppers: Australian cleaners have, of course, timed their strike for maximum impact. (The Age)
- Disney rebooting its retail stores à la Apple: Steve Jobs, Disney’s biggest investor, inspired the company to “think big.” (Star Tribune)
- Lowe’s in Facebook Hell as Racist Comments Pile Up: Lowe’s is in the midst of a PR nightmare after pulling its advertising from ‘All-American Muslim.’ (Adweek)
- U.S. retailers trim Europe plans on region’s debt woes: U.S. retail chains may need to accept that there’s no magic bullet for investment at this point. (Reuters)
- Macy’s to Keep Stores Open Around the Clock Pre-Christmas: Last-minute shoppers will have no excuses this year. (Forbes)
- Virgin Mobile’s high-tech solution to Christmas shopping jingle hell: Some shoppers can’t stand Christmas music. Virgin has found a way to help them out without spoiling everyone’s fun. (news.com.au)
Written by Nissa on December 14, 2011 – 11:38 am -
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Industry Headlines: December 8
- Retailers report strong sales for November: Looking good, November. (Associated Press)
- Best Buy Biggest Winner On Black Friday Weekend: Big box retailers did well in general, but Best Buy took the top spot. (Twice)
- Dogs join hunt for bargains and some stores welcoming them: More and more retailers allow pets on the premises. (Access Atlanta)
- Good ol’ days gone forever? Maybe not: “Retro” is in, but what does that mean this year? Apparently, just about anything before this millennium. (Houston Chronicle)
- Consumers No Scrooge With Sale of Seasonal Decor in U.S.: The jury is still out on holiday sales, but shoppers are buying decor like mad. (Brandweek)
- Spirit of Scrooge haunts Christmas shoppers: Unfortunately, retail sales in the UK are not doing quite as well. (The Guardian)
- Retail central to NYC’s rebound, Bloomberg tells conference: A nice bit of recognition at the National Conference. (Shopping Centers Today)
- Crate expectations: Shipping containers used for first ‘pop-up’ shopping mall: Boxpark is live in London. (CNN)
- Retail group lashes out after Amazon announces Price Check app promotion: Everyone knows shoppers do this, but explicitly rewarding them for it is a bit scummy. (LA Times)
- India Suspends Decision to Allow Foreign Retailers: The Indian government has backpedaled on an earlier decision after backlash. (Voice of America)
Written by Nissa on December 7, 2011 – 1:27 pm -
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Industry Headlines: December 1
- Mall owners pull plug on cellular tracking, for now: The fire under Footpath has got it pulled for now. (Ars Technica)
- Retailers leaving ‘wrong’ locations: As the high street empties, malls fill up. (The Guardian)
- IPad-Crazed Toddlers Spur Holiday Sales: While little ones normally have their parents in line early for the next toy trend, this year it’s all about the tablet. (Bloomberg)
- Mall Santas Curb Children’s Expectations To Reflect Faltering Economy: On the other hand, many families are hoping to avoid the iPad on the wishlist entirely. (Huffington Post)
- Feds seize 150 counterfeit websites on Cyber Monday: The end of a plague of online counterfeiters might encourage shoppers to buy the real brands, or at least head back to the mall. (Orange County Register)
- Target digs in heels as labour union applies to keep unionized status: Target’s move into Canada is causing no small amount of friction. (The Globe and Mail)
- ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have’: Retailers make pitch for self-gifting: The marketing theme this holiday season is a touch of self-indulgence. (MSNBC)
- Gadgets Unchain Cashiers: The distance between browsing and purchasing grows smaller. (Wall Street Journal – tiered subscriptions)
- Sleeping Giant at Walmart Wakes — Its Vast Workforce: Walmart takes steps to turn its customer service workforce into brand ambassadors. (Ad Age – tiered subscription)
- Row over India retail shake-up: India is on the verge of allowing significant foreign investment in retail, and the change is not going over entirely smoothly. (NZ Herald)
- Gift card spending to reach $27.8 billion this holiday season: The most practical of gifts gets even bitter this year. (Retailing Today)
- A mall built exclusively for your home reno needs: This is the second high-concept mall we’ve heard about in as many months. Consider me intrigued. (Globe and Mail)
- Santa gets beard caught in Gardens Mall rappelling stunt: A quick bit of spin saves a holiday mishap from becoming a disaster. (CBS12)
- Almost 2,000 free ‘purse protector’ bells distributed at Port Arcades Shopping Centre: Shoppers will be jingling through the holiday season, and their wallets will be safe.
- Shopping centre cleaners walk off the job: The ongoing labor struggle with Australian cleaners has resulted in aggressively-timed job action. (Herald Sun)
Written by Nissa on November 30, 2011 – 10:57 am -
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